The present invention relates to the preparation of metal nitride thin films. More particularly, the present invention concerns a method according to the preamble of claim 1 for growing transition metal nitride thin films by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD).
Atomic Layer Deposition, or ALD, is also generally known as Atomic Layer Epitaxy (ALE). The name was changed from ALE to ALD to avoid possible confusion when discussing polycrystalline and amorphous thin films. ALD also covers the more specific technology marketed under the trademark of ALCVD, as manufactured by ASM Microchemistry, Espoo, Finland. In this application, the designation xe2x80x9cALDxe2x80x9d will be used.
ALD is a known method (U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,430) for growing high quality thin films. In the method, a thin film is grown with the aid of alternate, saturating surface reactions. These reactions are carried out by conducting the gaseous or vaporised source materials alternately into the reactor and by purging the reactor with an inert gas between the pulses of the source materials. Because the film grows through saturating surface reactions, the growth is self-controlling, which guarantees that controlling the thickness of the film by means of the number of reaction cycles is precise and simple. The films grown by the method are flat, even on large surface areas, and their conformality is excellent (M. Ritala et al., Chemical Vapor Deposition, 5 (1999) 7). Consequently, ALD is a very useful potential method for growing diffusion barrier layers, too.
The continual decrease in the size of microelectronics components means that greater requirements are placed upon the metal conductors used in them and processes for manufacturing them. Metal conductors must be made narrower and narrower in order to decrease their surface area. This leads to increased resistance thereof. So-called RC delays (R=resistance, C=capacitance) are becoming a limiting factor on the speed of integrated circuits. Another significant consequence arising from the decreasing of cross-sectional areas of conductors is the increase in the electric current densities, which in turn raises the probability of electron migration damage. In order to minimise the RC delays, the resistance of conductors and the capacitance between them should be minimised. Using a metal with a lower resistance can decrease resistance. Up to now, aluminium has been used as a conductor, though it is in the process of being replaced by copper, which is more conductive, and which is considerably more stabile against electro migration than aluminium. Similarly, capacitance can be decreased by replacing SiO2 used as a dielectric material between the conductors with a dielectric material having a lower dielectric constant. Examples include SiO2 alloyed with fluorine, porous SiO2, along with different polymers.
The problem with introducing new conductor and dielectric materials is their compatibility with each other and materials surrounding them. Copper has a strong tendency to diffuse as much to silicon, SiO2 as to other materials. On the other hand, impurities migrating from dielectric materials to copper increase its resistivity and thus decrease the advantage achieved with copper. In order to avoid these problems, copper conductors must be surrounded all over with a suitable diffusion barrier layer, which prevents diffusion and reactions between materials. There is clear need to provide nitride thin layers serving as better diffusion barrier layers. The diffusion barrier layer must be as thin as possible in order to maintain the cross-sectional surface area of the copper conductor as high as possible, in order to minimise the resistance. Furthermore, the resistivity of the diffusion barrier layer must be as low as possible in order to avoid excessive resistance between the two copper layers. The most commonly used and studied diffusion barrier layer materials are transition metals and nitride compounds thereof (A. E. Kaleoyeros and E. Eisenbraun, Annual Review of Materials Science 30 (2000) 363; C. Ryu et al., Solid State Technology (1999) April, 53; S. -Q. Wang, MRS Bulletin (1994), August, 30).
In addition to the material properties, attention must also be paid to a method for preparing a diffusion barrier layer. Low processing temperature and excellent conformality, in other words step coverage, are crucial requirements placed on the manufacturing method.
Polymeric dielectric materials having low permittivity as well as the other stability factors of microcircuits require that a high quality diffusion barrier layer can be prepared at low temperature, i.e. at 400xc2x0 C. or below. Because the dual damascene process is used for making patterns on copper conductors, wherein the diffusion barrier and copper are grown in deep trenches and holes trenched in the dielectric material (P. C. Andricacos et al., IBM Journal of Research and Development 43 (1998) 567; N. Misawa, MRS Bulletin (1994) August, 63), the diffusion barrier layer has to have a very good conformality. Due to this requirement, the generally used physical layer growing methods will not be useful in growing the diffusion barrier layers. However, the ALD process makes it possible to deposit a flat film also on surfaces comprising small featured patterns like trenches, pits and/or vias, the depths of which can be in the order of under 0.2 xcexcm.
According to known technology, many transition metal nitrides can be grown by the ALD method: TiN, NbN, TaN, MoNx and W2N (M. Ritala and M. Leskelxc3xa4, Journal de Physique IV France 9 (1999) Pr8-837; Thin Films Handbook, Academic Press, in press). The chief difficulty in the chemical processing of the transition metal nitrides is in reducing metal, since in the generally used source materials, such as metal halides, the oxidation state is higher than in the nitride to be produced. In some cases ammonia, which is generally used as the nitrogen source, serves as a reducing agent. However, tantalum cannot be reduced with ammonia, but the TaCl5-NH3 process produces a dielectric Ta3N5 phase instead of the desired conductive TaN (M. Ritala et al., Chemistry of Materials 11 (1999) 1712). The lowest resistivities of the transition metal nitride films are achieved by those ALD processes, in which zinc is used as a separate reducing agent. In that case, a TaN phase of tantalum nitride is achieved, as well. The use of zinc in microelectronic applications is not recommended since it diffuses into silicon and produces electrically active electronic states. Furthermore, the low vapour pressure of zinc requires the temperature of the ALD process to be quite high, i.e. over 380xc2x0 C. Consequently, finding new, powerful reducing agents is crucial in development of low temperature transition metal nitride processes.
1,1-Dimethylhydrazide (DMHy) is known to be a more reactive and reductive nitrogen source material than ammonia in the processing of transition metal nitrides with ALD (M. Juppo et al., Journal of the Electrochemical Society 147 (2000) 3377). Films grown with DMHy at 400xc2x0 C. are slightly better than those grown with the aid of ammonia. The problem is that a conductive TaN phase cannot be achieved and other transition metal nitride films grown from DMHy are poorer in quality than films grown from ammonia with help of zinc.
Trimethyl aluminium is also used as a separate reducing agent in ALD growing of both TiN and TaN films (Juppo et al., Chemical Vapour Deposition, manuscript has been sent, and Alen et al., Journal of the Electrochemical Society, manuscript has been sent). The problem also in this case is that although the tantalum nitride films are already quite well conductive at the growth temperature of 400xc2x0 C., carbon and aluminium residues are detectable in the films.
It is an aim of the present invention to eliminate the problems of the prior art and to provide a new solution for growing conductive metal nitride thin films.
In particular, an aim of the present invention is to use in the ALD method such nitrogen compounds as the nitrogen source materials that have better reducing properties than the previously used ammonia and 1,1-dimethyl hydrazine.
The invention is based on the idea that the difficulty relating to reducing the metal can be eliminated in the ALD growing process by using such nitrogen source materials that have more efficient reducing properties than previously known. Compounds that are suitable for the purpose are those that have a group attached to the nitrogen in such a manner that, when dissociating in a homolytic manner from nitrogen, the group generates a radical that serves as a reducing agent or reacts further to generate atomic hydrogen. Such nitrogen compounds that dissociate more efficiently and/or at lower temperatures than ammonia and that generate more reducing radicals than ammonia can generate, have an especially reductive effect.
Although ALD reactions leading to the growth of the layer themselves do not necessarily proceed with radical mechanisms, the reducing properties of different compounds can still be assessed according to how they dissociate into radicals and what the properties of these radicals are.
More specifically, the present method is characterized by what is stated in the characterizing part of claim 1.
Considerable advantages are obtained with the aid of the invention. First, as a result of the invention, transition metal nitride films possessing more effective conductivity can be grown with the ALD method for use as diffusion barrier layers in integrated circuits.
One advantage that can be achieved with the invention is a process that is simpler and faster, while avoiding the use of an extra reducing agent. In addition, contamination of the films to be grown, caused by reducing agents such as zinc according to the known methods, is avoided.
Furthermore, the invention has the advantage that conductive nitride thin layers are obtained, which are as dense as those typical of the ALD method, having good coverage ability even on fine pattern trenched surfaces and vias, and which can be produced in a thin and uniform manner.
Transition metal nitride thin films produced according to the present invention can be used as diffusion barrier layers in integrated circuits, as already explained, and as a part of nanolaminate structures to be produced with ALD.
The process according to the present invention has particular application in the production of integrated circuits in a damascene process (P. C. Andricacos et al., IBM Journal of Research and Development 42 (1998) 567). The damascene process in question is used for producing of multilayer copper metallization. In the process, a dielectric film is grown over the previous metallizing layer, in which either holes or trenches are patterned with aid of lithography according to whether vias or conductors are produced. In the total process, the processing steps of vias and conductors alternate. After the patterning of vias and conductor trenches, a diffusion barrier layer is grown on the surface in such a way that it follows precisely the shapes of the surface and forms a uniform and dense structure in as thin a layer as possible. The present invention and opportunity it provides to conformal growing of transition metal nitride thin films are utilised in the production of these diffusion barrier layers. After this, the trenches are filled with copper, for example by first growing a thin seed layer on the surface using known methods, over which copper is grown electrochemically to the extent that the trenches are filled. CVD, ALD and physical methods can also be used in growing with copper, and instead of copper other conductive materials can also be used. Finally, the surface is smoothed by means of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) such that the copper remains isolated in the trenches produced and is removed from the surrounding level surfaces.
Most especially, the process according to the present invention can be used for producing integrated circuits in a dual damascene process. The vias and conductor trenches of each of the metallizing layers are filled in a single copper process in the dual damascene process. In this process a dielectric layer is grown onto the previous metallizing layer which typically consists of several materials so that the thinnest layers serve to stop the etching f the thicker layers. Vias and conductor trenches are patterned in the dielectric layer with multistage lithography, after which a diffusion barrier is grown on the surface. Because the trenches are deeper in this process and the patterns are more complex than in an ordinary damascene process, the requirements for conformality of production of the diffusion barrier layer are emphasised. Finally, the trenches are filled again with copper or with another conductive material and the surface is smoothed as described above.
Definitions
In the present invention, an xe2x80x9cALD type methodxe2x80x9d designates a method in which the deposition of vaporized material onto a surface is based on sequential and alternate self-saturating surface reactions. The principles of the ALD process are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,058,430 and 5,711,811.
Under the growing conditions, the amount of reactants bound to the surface will be determined by the number of available surface sites. This phenomenon is called xe2x80x9cself-saturationxe2x80x9d.
xe2x80x9cThin filmxe2x80x9d is used to designate a film which is grown from elements or compounds that are transported as separate ions, atoms or molecules via a vacuum, or a gaseous phase or a liquid phase from the source to the substrate. The thickness of the film is not essential with regard to the definition and it varies across a wide range according to the application, for example from one molecular layer to tens of micrometers.
The thickness of a xe2x80x9cthin film layerxe2x80x9d is usually in the order of nanometers. In principle, the minimum thickness of a thin film layer is one molecular layer but typically the lower limit for thickness of the thin film layer is set by the thickness in which a certain compound is able to form a uniform thin film layer and thus form a uniform phase barrier surface with adjacent phases.
The term xe2x80x9creducing nitrogen source materialxe2x80x9d in the present invention means a compound that, when it dissociates in a homolytic manner, produces a reducing radical and/or atomic hydrogen, and while generating nitride, it is able to react with the selected transition metal source material. The reducing properties of different compounds can be assessed on the basis of how easily they dissociate into radicals and what properties the radicals thus formed have. ALD reactions according to the invention do not necessarily proceed with radical mechanisms.
xe2x80x9cReaction spacexe2x80x9d is used to designate a reactor or reaction chamber in which the conditions can be adjusted so that the growing of a thin film by ALD is possible.
The Growing Process
The transition metal nitride thin layers according to the present invention are grown with the ALD method onto a growth substrate placed in a reaction chamber by subjecting it to alternate surface reactions with at least two different reactants in a gas phase.
According to the method of the invention the thin film layer is grown onto a substrate fitted in the reaction space by feeding gas phase pulses into the reaction space and contacting the source materials contained in gas phase pulses with the surface of the substrate. Gas phase pulses of the metal source material(s) and the nitrogen source material(s) are fed in the reaction space alternately and subsequently, and the nitrogen source material pulse contains at least one nitrogen source material that is more reductive than the prior art ammonia.
The xe2x80x9csurfacexe2x80x9d of the substrate comprises initially the surface of the actual substrate surface possibly having been treated previously, for example by contacting it with a chemical to alter the properties of the surface. A reagent is preferably fed into the reactor with the aid of an inert carrier gas, such as nitrogen.
Preferably, and in order to accelerate the process, the metal source material pulse and the nitrogen source pulse are separated from each other and the reaction space is purged with inert gas pulses from unreacted residues of previous chemicals, also referred to as gas purging. An alternative, slower method for removing the reactants from the reaction space is to empty the reactor of gases by pumping. The inert gas purging typically comprises an inert gas such as nitrogen, or a noble gas, such as argon.
The conditions of the reaction space are adjusted to ensure that no gas-phase reactions occur, i.e. reactions between gaseous reactants, but only surface reactions, i.e., reactions between species adsorbed on the surface of the substrate and a gaseous reactants.
For the growth temperature, a temperature is selected in which the source materials to be used are stabile against thermal decomposition, which the growth substrate tolerates and in which the quality of the forming film meets the requirements set, for example with regard to impurities and conductivity. On the other hand, the growth temperature has to be sufficiently high in order that the source materials remain in a gaseous state, i.e. in order to avoid condensation of the source materials onto the substrate surface. A suitable temperature depends also on pressure. The substrate temperature according to the present invention is typically 100xc2x0 C. to 700xc2x0 C., preferably between 250xc2x0 C. and 500xc2x0 C.
The growing of a thin layer can be carried out at normal pressure, but it is preferable to carry out the method according to the present invention at a reduced pressure. The pressure in the reactor is typically 0.01 mbar to 20 mbar, preferably between 0.1 mbar and 5 mbar.
According to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention the growing process consists of subsequent pulsing cycles (also referred to as growing cycles or cycles). A pulsing cycle consists essentially of
feeding a vapour-phase pulse of a metal source chemical into the reaction space;
purging the reaction space with an inert gas;
feeding a vapour-phase pulse(s) of one or more reducing nitrogen source materials into the reaction space, whereby metal nitride is formed onto the surface;
purging the reaction space with an inert gas.
Consequently, the nitrogen source materials used in a first preferred embodiment serve essentially as reducing agents for metal source material absorbed onto the substrate surface and also as nitrogen sources for the forming of a metal nitride thin film.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the growing process consists of subsequent pulsing cycles in essence such that a pulsing cycle consists of
feeding a vapour-phase pulse of a metal source chemical into the reaction space;
purging the reaction space with an inert gas;
feeding a vapour-phase pulse of one or more reducing nitrogen source materials into the reaction space, whereby the metal source material absorbed onto the surface is reduced and metal nitride is formed;
purging the reaction space with an inert gas;
feeding a vapour-phase pulse of another nitrogen source material (or containing more nitrogen source materials) into the reaction space to complement the nitride formation and
purging the reaction space with an inert gas.
Consequently, the reducing nitrogen source materials used in another preferred embodiment serve essentially as reducing agents for the metal source materials absorbed onto the substrate surface, and the nitrogen compound used as another nitrogen source material complements the forming of metal nitride onto the substrate. For example, when growing tantalum nitride, the forming of a metal-nitrogen ratio of 1:1 is boosted in this way.
Used nitrogen source materials can be pulsated also simultaneously or in a reverse order onto the substrate. It is also possible to produce a suitable mixture of one or more nitrogen source materials in the reactor. Purging of the reaction space is not necessary between the two nitrogen source material pulses.
The purpose of purging between the source material pulses is to assure conditions in which the reactions leading to the formation of a thin film occur on the surface in a self-saturating manner. This makes possible the growing of the thin film in accordance with the ALD method, which provides the formation of previously mentioned conformational thin layer also in trenched and otherwise patterned surfaces and vias.
Source Materials
The source materials are selected so that the requirements for sufficient vapour pressure, sufficient thermal stability at the substrate temperature and sufficient reactivity of the compounds are fulfilled.
Sufficient vapour pressure means that there must be enough source chemical molecules in the gas phase near the substrate surface to enable fast enough self-saturated reactions at the surface.
In practice, sufficient thermal stability means that the source chemical itself must not form growth-disturbing condensable phases on the substrates or leave harmful levels of impurities on the substrate surface through thermal decomposition. The aim is to reach such a situation that non-controlled condensation of molecules on substrates cannot take place.
1. Nitrogen Source Materials
According to the invention, at least one reducing nitrogen compound that is able to reduce the metal source material bound to the surface of the substrate to an oxidation stage of metal corresponding to the oxidation state of nitride metal to be grown, is used as the nitrogen source material(s).
Of particular advantage is that the tantalum in the tantalum source material is reduced to a formal oxidation state of +3 in order to provide a conductive TaN phase on the thin film. In the invention, alkylamines of formula (I)
NRxH3-xxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(I) 
wherein
R is hydrocarbon, amino or silyl group and each R can be either the same or different, and
x is an integer 1, 2, or 3 indicating the number of R groups,
are used as the nitrogen source material.
Preferably R is a substituted or unsubstituted, cyclic, linear or branched, alkyl, alkenyl, allyl, aryl, alkylaryl, arylalkyl, amino or silyl group.
The term silyl group means a xe2x80x94SiRxe2x80x2xe2x80x33 group, wherein Rxe2x80x2xe2x80x3 can be hydrogen or alkyl, the number of carbons thereof can be 1 to 10, and the Rxe2x80x2xe2x80x3 groups can either be the same or different with each other.
R as a hydrocarbon group comprises most appropriately 1 to 20 carbon atoms. More preferably, R is a linear or branched C1-C10 alkyl, and especially preferably it is a tertiary hydrocarbon.
Thus, most appropriately alkyl amines of formula (II)
NRxe2x80x2Rxe2x80x3yH2-yxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(II) 
wherein
Rxe2x80x2 is a hydrocarbon group, the carbon attached to nitrogen being attached to at least two other carbon atoms, and is as an allyl structure,
Rxe2x80x3 is a hydrocarbon, amino or silyl group and if present two R groups, they can be the same or different, and
y is an integer 0, 1 or 2 indicating number of the Rxe2x80x3 groups,
are used as the reducing nitrogen source material.
The allyl structure of formula (II), as the hydrocarbon Rxe2x80x2 can be, means a hydrocarbon chain xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94CHxe2x95x90CR1R2, wherein R1 and R2 can be hydrogen or alkyl.
Alkyl amines, like compounds of formula NRxH3-x, are derivatives of ammonia, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms of ammonia are replaced by a hydrocarbon group R. Because the Nxe2x80x94C bond is weaker than the Nxe2x80x94H bond, alkyl amines dissociate more readily than ammonia. Thus, it results in alkyl and NH3-x radicals. The more stable the forming alkyl radical is, the easier is dissociation. Alkyl radicals are on their half the more stable the more branched they are at the place of carbon having an odd electron, in other words the better an odd electron can delocalize in the radical. Thus, the stability of the radical increases in series primary less than secondary less than tertiary. Furthermore, especially stable is the allyl radical, CH2xe2x95x90CHxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80xa2, wherein delocalization of an odd electron is more efficient than in saturated hydrocarbon radicals. Thus the dissociation tendency of amines increases as R changes in series primary less than secondary less than tertiary. Examples of Table 1 illustrate this trend.
(CRC Handbook of Physics and Chemistry, 58th Edition, p. F-240. aB. Hahn et al., Journal of Crystal Growth 170 (1997) 427.)
Radicals that form in the ALD process as amines dissociate can reduce the metal source materials, but they can also decompose further to generate new radicals that can also serve as reducing agents.
3Allyl amine (ALNH2 or H2Cxe2x95x90CHCH2NH2) and/or tert-butyl amine (tBuNH or (CH3)3CNH2) are used especially advantageously as the nitrogen source material. The former dissociates readily producing tert-butyl radicals according to the reaction equation IR, which on their half when they react further generate atomic hydrogen according to the reaction equation IIR, which is known to be an especially effective reducing agent.
(CH3)3CNH2xe2x86x92(CH3)3C.+.NH2xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(IR) 
(CH3)3C.xe2x86x92(CH3)2Cxe2x95x90CH2+H.xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(IIR) 
Among the nitrogen compounds used in the invention the following are preferred:
methyl, dimethyl and trimethyl amine,
ethyl, diethyl and triethyl amine,
n-propyl, di-n-propyl, tri-n-propyl, isopropyl and diisopropylamine,
allyl, diallyl and triallyl amine,
n-butyl, di-n-butyl, tri-n-butyl, isobutyl, diisobutyl, triisobutyl, sec-butyl and t-butyl amine,
ethyl-n-butyl, dimethyl-n-butyl, n-amyl, di-n-amyl and tri-n-amyl amine,
1-methylpropylamine (D,L),
bis(1-methyl)propylamine (D,L),
pentyl, dipentyl and tripentyl amine,
1-methylbutyl amine
bis(3-methylbutyl)amine and tris(3-methylbutyl)amine,
3-methoxypropylamine.
Silyl amines are also suitable nitrogen compounds for use in the invention.
Nitrogen source materials supplementing suitable nitride-forming reactions in another preferred embodiment of the invention described above, to use together with compounds of formula(I), are at least ammonia, hydrazine and hydrazine derivatives, which are good nitrogen source materials in a method according to the invention, but they are not sufficiently reducing by themselves to provide the desired properties required to produce the metal nitride thin layers.
2. Metal Source Materials
According to the invention compounds of formula (II)
MXnLzxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(II) 
wherein
M is a transition metal,
X is a negatively charged ligand, when each X is independently, for example, a halide (F, Cl, Br, I), hydride, alkylamide, alkoxide, aryloxide, alkyl, cyclopentadienyl or xcex2-diketonate,
n is a number of ligands X; each ligand has a charge of xe2x88x921, n is equal to the oxidation state of metal in the source material MXn,
L is a neutral adduct ligand which binds to M by one or more of its atoms and
z indicates the number of the binding neutral ligands, and it can be 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4,
are used as the metal source materials.
Metal (M) belongs to the groups of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 of the periodic system, according to the numbering of groups recommended by IUPAC. Metal (M) belongs especially advantageously to the groups 4, 5 or 6 of the periodic system, since the physical and chemical properties of these metal nitrides, as chemical inert nature and thermal stability, correspond best to the requirements set by the objects of application of the invention.
Halides of transition metals having sufficiently high vapour pressure are well suited to be the metal source material in the method according to the invention. Alkyl amides of transition metals are another compound group fulfilling the requirements set for the ALD source materials, out of which the metal source materials can advantageously be selected for the method according to the invention. However, alkylamides that serve as metal source materials do not serve as nitrogen source materials, since the growing conditions according to the ALD method are selected so that alkyl amide of metal does not form metal nitride on the substrate, but nitride is formed in a controlled manner via alternate surface reactions of the metal and nitrogen source materials.
Suitable titanium source materials in the method according to the present invention are, in addition to halides, alkyl amides, such as tetrakis(alkylamido)titanium(IV), wherein alkyl can be, for example, methyl, ethyl, ethylmethyl, n-propyl or n-butyl, and bis[N,Nxe2x80x2-bis(tert-butyl)ethylenediamido]titanium(IV), tertbutyl-Ti(NMe2)3 and [Ti(xcexc-N-t-Bu)(NMe2)2]2. 
Also, the following compounds are suitable for use as titanium source materials according to the invention:
CpTi(II)(C7H7), wherein Cp is cyclopentadienyl,
Ti(III)Cp2Cl, and
Ti(III)Cl3.
Particularly suitable zirconium source materials, in addition to halides, are tetrakis(alkylamido)zirconium(IV), wherein alkyl can be, for example, methyl, ethyl, ethylmethyl, n-propyl or n-butyl.
Particularly suitable hafnium source materials, in addition to halides, are alkylamides like tetrakis(alkylamido)hafnium(IV), wherein alkyl can be, for example, methyl, ethyl, ethylmethyl, n-propyl or n-butyl.
Particularly suitable tungsten source materials, in addition to halides, are carbonyls, such as W(CO)6, (C5H5)W(CO)3(CH3), (C5H5)WH(CO)3, (C7H8)W(CO)3 and (C8H12)W(CO)4.
Also, the following tungsten compounds are suitable as tungsten source materials in method according to the invention: W(C6H6)2, W(PF3)6, W(allyl)4, (C5H5)2WH2, [CH3(C5H4)]2WH2, W(butadiene)3 and W(methylvinylketone)3).
Especially suitable molybdenum source materials are, in addition to halides, Mo(CO)6, (xcex76-C6H6)Mo(CO)3, xcex76-C6H3(CH3)3]Mo(CO)3 and Mo(xcex73-allyl)4.
Particularly suitable tantalum source materials, in addition to halides, are Ta(NR2)5, wherein R can be methyl or ethyl, Ta(NEt2)4, (NEt2)3Taxe2x95x90NtBu, [TaCl2(xe2x95x90NtBu)(NHtBu)(NH2tBu)]2, [TaCl2(NNMe2)(NHNMe2)(NH2Nme2)]n and Ta(xe2x95x90NEt)(NEt2)3.
Particularly suitable niobium source materials, in addition to halides, are Nb(NR12)5, wherein R1 can be methyl or ethyl, Nb(NEt2)4, (NEt2)3NBxe2x95x90NiPr, [NbCl2(xe2x95x90NtBu)(NhtBu)(NH2tBu)]2 and Nb(xcex76-C6H6)2.
Especially suitable vanadium source materials, in addition to halides, are VCl2(NHR2)2, wherein R2 is amine, CpV(CO)4, CpC(xcex76-C6H6), VCp2, V(CO)6 and V(xcex76-C6H6)2.
Especially suitable chromium source materials, in addition to halides, are Cr(CO)6, Cr(cumene)2, CpCr(CO)3H, Cr[CH2C(CH3)4], Cr(NiPr)3 and (xcex76-C7H8)Cr(CO)3.
Conductive TaN phase of tantalum nitride is grown preferably by using tantalum pentachloride (TaCl5), tantalum pentabromide (TaBr5) or tantalum pentaiodide (TaI5) as the source material.
A conductive TiN thin film can be produced by the method according to the invention by using titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4), titanium tetrabromide (TiBr4) or titanium tetraiodide (TiI4) as the source material.